Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery MonthlySubscribe to our newsletter. We value email contact with you. We share our list with NO ONE. We email monthly notifications of our newsletters, and occasional info of gallery exhibitions and events. You may unsubscribe anytime.

Jean-François Raffaëlli's The Absinthe Drinkers now at San Francisco's Legion of Honor

Jean-François Raffaëlli's The Absinthe DrinkersLegion of Honor, San Francisco

At the entrance to the de Young's recent "Birth of Impressionism," exhibition, visitors were given a preview of the Legion of Honor's newest acquisition, Jean François Raffaëlli's "The Absinthe Drinkers."

In 1881, Edgar Degas wanted to increase the number of figural painters at the sixth Impressionist Group Show, and invited Raffaëlli to exhibit his painting, The Absinthe Drinkers. So even then, this painting was exhibited with the impressionists. Now this new San Francisco treasure resides in the Legion of Honor's Gallery 19.

But why such a fascination with absinthe, especially among so many of the late 19th century French painters?

In the 1840's, absinthe was given to French troops in northern Africa as a malaria treatment. The troops brought their taste for their "medication" back home, and in a short time, absinthe grew in popularity in bars, bistros, cafes and cabarets.

By the 1860's, the French version of "Happy Hour" was called "The Green Hour." Absinthe was embraced by all social classes, from the bourgeoisie down to the poor artists and the working class. By the 1880's absinthe had become core to the French life style and grew steadily in popularity. In 1910, France was consuming 36 million liters of absinthe a year.

Absinthe had successfully overtaken France, and was celebrated by its artists. They seemed drawn to the its air of danger and most eager to succumb to its seduction. They had nicknames for it, "The Green Fairy, and the Green Muse." They believed the magic elixir to possess psychoactive properties which could enhance their creative process. Painters, playwrights and authors included absinthe in their works, and the openness to absinthe matched well with the daring and free spiritedness of their bohemian lifestyles. And to some degree, perhaps many celebrated absinthe because of the growing campaign against its use.

Some attribute Van Gogh's use of pale green in his palette to his excessive use of absinthe. In time, those using absinthe received a backlash from a wide chorus of those resenting such behavior. Movements to ban the drink rose up in Europe and America, and for nearly a century, the ban has held firm.

Vincent Van Goph, The Drinkers
Art Institute of Chicago

In the January 20th, 1901 edition of the San Francisco Call, absinthe is called the "Green Terror," something to be feared and banned in order to protect the younger generation. Here's some of what the SF Call had to say almost 110 years ago.

"Is San Francisco in the grip of the Green Terror?

Society is all agog over the recent discovery that a coterie of girls in the fashionable uptown boarding school have been caught tippling absinthe. The absinthe habit has existed for some time in certain stratas of society, but this is the first intimation that the insidious green terror is demoralizing the young. To say that society is shocked is putting it mildly.

Every effort has been made to hush the scandal, but it has leaked out. Just how the girls succumbed to the green terror is not known, but they probably tasted it

The Absinthe Drinker by Viktor Oliva
Café Slavia, Prague

“just for fun" at a midnight feast. It exhilarated them and polished their wits. The next lark was not complete without absinthe. Then they found that it stimulated their faculties before an “ex” and then covertly partook of it. In a short time the green terror had them secure in its fangs.

Now one of the girls, whose nervous system has become completely shattered, is in a sanitarium fighting to escape from the destroying grip of the green terror. Two of the other girls are home threatened with nervous prostration, for their racked nerves are at the mercy of the terrible dreams pictured by their lively and overwrought imaginations. ...

... France has just entered upon a national crusade against the green terror. No other country on earth is such a victim to this insidious monster. Imagine a nation the size of France that annually

Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec Monsieur Boleau in a CafeThe Cleveland Museum of Art

consumes 10,060,000 quarts of absinthe. A man does not have to be an Emile Zola with a mind to picture the horrors of absinthe drinking as set forth in “L’Assocmoir” to know that a dreadful situation this sums up. It amounts to one quart of absinthe to each three inhabitants, including men, women and children. The reports of the Minister of Finance show that there is an absinthe seller to every three buildings in Paris. That means more absinthe shops than there are whisky mills on our notorious Barbary coast. ... "

The article goes on and on, but you get the thrust of it. In a similar tone, the irrational abhorrence of the perceived evil of absinthe persisted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, espoused by the inspired ranks of temperance crusaders on both sides of the Atlantic. In time, they got their way, and the Green Fairy was legally eradicated.

But recently, the Green Fairy has been resurrected. She now is legally available, and many are making its acquaintance. But now, after the drugs, free love and rock and roll of the 1960's and beyond, the magic appeal of the Green Fairy seems to have waned, and no one seems to claim it as "the green muse" any longer.

But for those of us who enjoy the artistry of the Bohemian artists, the lively cafe life of 19th century Paris, the inspirations of the Impressionist and Post Impressionist era, the style of absinthe drinking writers such as Edgar Allen Poe or Ernest Hemingway, the era of The Absinthe Drinker is one which deserves to be cherished and celebrated. The times may have changed, but their art endures. You may well want to make plans to visit to this new San Francisco treasure, The Absinthe Drinkers now in Gallery 19 at the Legion of Honor.

James Cagney loved all kinds of art and all kinds of artists, writers, actors, dancers, painters, or the thousands of artists throughout his career who plied their talents behind his star on the screen. Cagney loved and appreciated them all.

In a famous speech accepting the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1974, he gives glowing comments to art and artists everywhere.

to the left:
a signed portrait
of James Cagney, dedicated to Barbara & John Hilton,

"To John and Barbara, two of my favorite people, All that's good, James Cagney"

Excerpt of the 1974 AFI (American Film Institute)
Life Time Achievement Award to James Cagney(9 min)

After his career in film, the retired James Cagney had time to dedicate to his passion for painting. In his autobiography, he says he may have been happier (even though he would have been poorer) if he had been a painter rather than a movie star. He studied with Sergei Bongart in Santa Monica, and enjoyed the friendship and comradery of painting with artist John W. Hilton while visiting his vacation home in Twentynine Palms.

John W. Hilton painting while James Cagney sketches

To listen to John W. Hilton's daughter, artist Kathi Hilton, tell it, there isn't too much to tell. Kathy attended high school with Casey Cagney, James Cagney's daughter. Kathi was invited to a school related party held on Cagney's yacht docked in Newport Harbor, and somewhere along the line, Kathi's artist father, John W. Hilton became fast friends with James Cagney. Cagney owned a second home in Twentynine Palms and regularly visited his Twentynine Palms neighbor John Hilton, often spending hours just visiting, swimming, painting and sketching.

Perhaps what drew Cagney to Hilton in part was that Hilton did not treat him as a celebrity, but as a friend. Throughout his life, Hilton loved chumming around with artists, and he enjoyed numerous associations with artists and accomplished people in other fields.

From her youth, Kathi Hilton recalls a flood of fascinating stories of her father's friends frequently visiting her house, many who enjoying her mother's enchiladas, and painting with her dad. Kathi's favorite visitors were artists Maynard Dixon and Jimmy Swinnerton, whom she credits as her earliest inspirations to become a painter. And there were other visiting friends such as Howard Hughes who would fly his airplane out from Los Angeles and land on the highway in front of Hilton's Gem Shop and Gallery, bringing lobster for dinner. In 1941, Hilton hosted General George Patton in his home, and in the 1950's, President Eisenhower would visit Hilton and paint with him.

James Cagney pursued his painting for the joy of it. During one of his visits at the Hilton home, Kathi shared her concern with him that her paintings were too much like her father's. Cagney responded to Kathi enthusiastically saying, "Katy my dear, don't you worry about it. Just paint what's in your heart." Cagney never sold his work except on one occasion, selling a painting to Johnny Carson for a charity event. He always considered himself an amateur, but painting allowed him an avenue and opportunity to live artistically, a philosophy we all can ascribe to.

As an artist, she created from her heart what she knew best, her African American heritage, filled with love, hope, and life. Just as the images of other American regionalists such as Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton spoke to the idyllic interpretations and hard working ideals of their times, Varnette's striking images speak to the deeply rooted faith of her culture, a people filled with the joys of community and confidence for the future.

Varnette's big break came when her paintings were chosen to help decorate the set of The Cosby Show. Bill Cosby once said of Varnette's paintings as fitting the walls of the

home of the fictional Huxtable family "like a slice of pie on a plate." In a recent article with the LA Times, Bill Cosby went on to describe Varnette's work saying, "She truly captured the feel of family love. Her work had depth and storytelling. She just knocked it out of the ballpark every time."

She was born in Los Angeles in December of 1950. As a teen, she studied art at the famed Chouinard Art Institute and attended college in Atlanta at Spelman College where she majored in Art. She later earned a Masters Degree in Education from USC in Los Angeles.

Her work was influenced by her life experience. Her childhood visits with family in the deep South, her experiences at Spelman College in Atlanta, and an eye opening visit to Nigeria all were inspirations for later works.

Gettin' Down

Generation of Creative Genius

St. Saphire

The basic thrust of Varnette's work speaks to the vibrancy and vitality of African American culture, overcoming the racial oppression it had endured. Her striking colors against the contrasting backdrop of historical oppression is striking and memorable.

After graduation from Spelman College, she returned to LA where she worked in a Joint Educational Project teaching art to minority students. This included a challenging aspect, as she taught art at the central LA Juvenile Hall, an experience she said was highly difficult. But these experiences only gave backbone to her desire to create positive images for black children.

Jesus Loves Me

Varnette was thrilled to have visited Nigeria in 1977. She later reflected on how her African travels influenced her work, giving her an emotional linkage to her own ancestors, and reinforcing her belief that African Americans must look to Africa as a source of their independent identity, pride, and creativity.

Varnette leaves behind a body of artistic work which speaks to the ages. She used art as a way to not only picture a culture, but to inspire it, drenched in a tasteful vibrancy of a rainbow of color, she manages to weave themes of confidence, family, faith, love, and aspiring hope.

Varnette died in Los Angeles on September of 2010 of cancer at the young age of 59. She leaves for all of us the legacy of her spirit and her art.

The Walt Disney Family Museum
is celebrating its first anniversary
October 1 – 3

The 1st Anniversary of the Walt Disney Family Museum occurs this weekend, Oct 1 - 3. This world class museum fits well in its prime historical setting of San Francisco's Presidio and tells the tale of how the art of animated film was born, nurtured and advanced by the talented artists and visionaries assembled by Walt Disney.

In our September Newsletter, we reported on the Pixar 25th Anniversary exhibition at the Oakland Museum, a celebration of Pixar's contributions to the art of computerized animation. Pixar has gone to great lengths to explain that 75% of the work done on any animation feature is completed before they even touch a computer, and that they employ many of the same steps, methods and techniques used by the animation pioneers at Disney.

So grab your hat, and visit The Walt Disney Family Museum this weekend.

Admission is half off for the Saturday Night Soiree--think music with a live DJ and cash bar!--which will keep the Museum open until 9PM!

Richard Benefield, founding executive director of the Museum says “It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since we opened our doors in the Presidio. Our efforts to present the life and achievements of Walt Disney in an interactive and imaginative way are ongoing and we’re pleased to see families, teens, and seniors all enjoying different elements of the Museum.”

Weekend highlights include: Live Music throughout the weekend. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, bring a picnic lunch for the front lawn and they’ll serenade you with ragtime jazz.

The Saturday Night Soiree features HALF-PRICE Museum Admission tickets, a cash bar from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, and DJ music.

The “Where’s Walt?” Treasure Hunt Contest – Grand Prize is a Private Screening of a Disney classic for you and up to 50 of your closest friends in our Theater.

Museum staff gallery talks will share details about the visually dramatic “Steamboat Willie” Wall and the special Pinocchio Animator’s desk.

A 25-minute “Best of” Video in WDFM'S theater will feature special guests who appeared this past year, including Disney Legends, executives, animators, and stars.

The Museum's ONE YEAR Anniversary Video Contest!
Monday, September 27, 2010 at 12:30PM

Walt Disney said it best: "I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment." And while it's true that Walt was pushing the envelope long before YouTube, we think it's a good way to launch WDFM's FIRST ANNIVERSARY VIDEO CONTEST! So pick up your cameras and get the creative juices flowing because it's time for YOU to explore and experiment!

The instructional video below will fill you in on the details, but here's the bottom line: Create a promotional video for The Walt Disney Family Museum for your chance to win one of THREE awesome prizes--including a personalized video-editing class in our Digital Media Studio, a personal tour (for four) of the Museum, autographed copies of WDFM's book, and so much more! The contest starts today, September 27, and will run for 6 weeks through November 15!

A Radio Disney Road Crew on Saturday from 1:00pm– 3:00 pm with games, contests, and music for the whole family.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will be shown on the Big Screen at 1:00pm and 4:00pm (Free on a first-come-first-served bases with Museum Admission).

Bodega Bay's Smith & Kirk Contemporary Art and Custom Framing on Hwy 1, next to the Ren Brown Collection has provided an opportunity to feature other paintings besides the exhibits in the main gallery nearby on Eastshore Road. Your framing needs are attended to by Gary Smith of Smith & Kirk.

Smith & Kirk is open Wednesdays through Sundays. A selection of BHGallery's paintings by Nels Hagerup, Joshua Meador, Alexander Dzigurski and his son Alex II, and John W. Hilton's daughter Kathi are currently featured. Linda Sorensen's oil paintings are also shown by Smith & Kirk.

Visit our Joshua Meador's page. We've posted two new photos of Josh going about his duties of special effects at the Disney studios, one with Walt Disney looking on. Keep watching his page. We are preparing some stunning, never before seen paintings from the family collection.

photos were discovered and sent to us courtesy of Andrea Atchinson, daughter of Disney special effects artist, Jack Boyd

They're still here. Visitors are flocking to Bodega Head to view our group of juvenile gray whales who have chosen to spend the summer with us. Our ocean is filled with krill and the whales chose to stay rather than head to their historic feeding grounds in Alaska. Come this winter, they will join the migration south to Mexico, and we won't see them until the migration north next Spring. So plan a trip to the coast soon, and enjoy our local giants of the sea.

Sacramento's Crocker MuseumGRAND OPENING OCTOBER 10, 2010Wayne Thiebaud: Homecomingto Inaugurate New Galleries at the Expanded Crocker Art MuseumThis exhibition celebrates Sacramento’s most famous artist, Wayne Thiebaud, as he begins his 90th year. It is, for both the artist and the Crocker Art Museum, a homecoming. Nearly 60 years ago, in 1951, Thiebaud held his first one-artist exhibition, Influences on a Young Painter, at the Crocker. This new exhibition, featuring approximately 75 paintings and drawings, spans his entire career, from the artist’s early works to paintings fresh from his easel

This exhibition was submitted by one of our readers. Thanks ... In 1935, the WPA was the largest New Deal agency, employing millions to work on public works projects. The Federal Art Project (FAP) put thousands of artists to work creating more than 200,000 separate works, including posters, murals, and paintings.

To celebrate the WPA anniversary, the Bedford Gallery presents The American Scene: New Deal Art, 1935-1943. bringing together works by more than 65 artists who found work with the FAP, some of whom lived in the Bay Area during the Great Depression.

Pablo Picasso Reading 1932

Are you visiting Seattle?Picasso, Masterpieces from theMusée National Picasso, ParisOctober 8 - January 17Seattle Art Museum | See the Art Slide showWednesday–Sunday: 10 am–5 pm Thursday & Friday: 10 am–9 pm Monday & Tuesday: closedThe works in this exhibition come from Picasso’s personal collection
works of art the highly self-aware artist kept for himself with the intent of shaping his own artistic legacy. Drawn from the collection of the Musée National Picasso in Paris—the largest and most important repository of the artist’s work in the world—the exhibition will feature work representing every major period from the artist’s prolific output over eight decades.

And while visiting galleries in Bodega Bay, dine at TheTerrapin Creek Cafe"just above Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery"Here's what Santa Rosa's Press Democrat had to say ...
"... Against all odds, this little storefront restaurant, in the space that was once the Seaweed Café, perched on a hillside above the Bodega harbor marina, has pulled off a culinary coup. In a Wine Country stuffed with world-renowned restaurants, it is, in a quiet and unassuming way, among the best."

IN Santa Rosa The Annex Galleries specializing in 19th, 20th, and 21st century
American and European fine printsThe Annex Galleries is a member of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA).http://www.AnnexGalleries.com| Back to the Top

A juried exhibition of theNational Winners in both the phto and art divisions. Major artists nationally participated in this year's event, which depicts the plight and beauty of our woodlands in each of the U.S. Forsest Regions with a special competition for art focusing on the Northern California Redwood Region. Net proceeds from the Exhibition support the Redwood Forest Foundation,
for info ... please call 707-942-0585 http://www.leeyoungmangalleries.com | Back to the Top

IN GRATON Graton Gallery
9048 Graton Road, Graton, California (707) 829-8912ARTrails Preview Show
September 28 - October 24, 2010 at Graton Gallery
Meet the Artists at the Opening Reception: Saturday October 2, 3-6pmhttp://www.gratongallery.com/Back to the Top

IN PETALUMAVintage Bank AntiquesVintage Bank Antiques is located in Historic Downtown Petaluma, corner of Western Avenue and Petaluma Blvd. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Warren Davis and the rest of the team at Vintage Bank Antiques has assembled a spectacular inventory of paintings. From the 18th Century to Contemporary Artists. We have paintings to suit every price point and collector level. If you have a painting for sale, please consider Vintage Bank Antiques. Contact Warren Davis directly at WarrenDavisPaintings@yahoo.com101 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, CA 94952, ph: 707.769.3097http://vintagebankantiques.com | Back to the Top

IN PETALUMAPetaluma Arts Council"... to celebrate local artists and their contributions
and involve the whole community
in appreciation, involvement and recognition of art Oct. 1 - Nov. 7: El Día de Los Muertos Petaluma
Festivities include artists' receptions, foods of El Día de Los Muertos,
sugar skull and altar-making, music, poetry, dance and more. http://www.petalumaartscouncil.org |Back to the Top

Petaluma Art Center
Photo:Anita Diamondstein

And, while on the Big Island, visit these friends of our gallery ...

In Waimea, Big Island, Hawaii Isaacs Art CenterWell worth the effort ... while on the Big Island, visit its best Museum and Gallery,
with some impressive and historic Hawaiian art.http://isaacsartcenter.hpa.edu | Back to the Top

The Walt Disney Family Museum tickets available onlineFilm of the Month Treasure Island (1950)1:00 and 4:00 pm (daily except for Tuesdays, October 1-3, and October 9) tickets available online. A tangled friendship between a young adventurer and a pirate searching for buried treasure, this swashbuckling film will keep you on the edge of your seat.

San Francisco de Young Museum Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne
and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from
the Musée d’OrsaySeptember 25, 2010 - January 18, 2011

OaklandOakland Museum of CaliforniaPIXAR: 25 Years of Animation
drawings, paintings, & sculptures
from Ratatouille, WALL-E, UP, and Toy Story.
- The new Gallery of California Art showcases more than 800 works"... one of the largest and most comprehensive holdings of California art"

Santa RosaSonoma County MuseumSandow Birk: The Depravities of WarSeptember 18 - November 7, 2010
Members Preview: Friday, September 17, 5-7pm
The Depravities of War is a series of 15 large scale woodblock prints inspired by the series of etchings by Jacques Callot called "The Miseries of War" in the seventeenth century.

Los Angeles Los Angeles Museum of Art -Land & Sea: Paintings and Photographs of Monterey and Beyond.Through October 24
Featuring paintings, photographs, watercolors and etchings, Land & Sea will offer visitors a unique look at how Monterey’s natural and urban landscape has influenced the many artists who lived and worked in Monterey and abroad.

Irvine The Irvine Museum"Saving Paradise"Over a hundred years ago, many artists were fascinated with the splendor of California, which compelled them to paint the scenic beauty of California. Although the great romantic image of Old California remains, the unique landscape has changed dramatically. For our time, we are fortunate to be able to view some of these rare paintings and are able to briefly return to a time long ago when California was an unspoiled paradise. Through Oct 23

Prescott, AZ Phippen MuseumPortraits of the West:
The Kenneth M. Freeman Legacy Exhibition
"Rembrandt of the Rodeo"
June 26 through October 24, 2010Working the West: Selections from the Phippen Collection, November 6, 2010 to February 20, 2011

Atlanta, GA High Museum of ArtThe American collection ... paintings by William Merritt Chase, Henry Ossawa Tanner, John Twachtman and Childe Hassam. It includes landscapes by Hudson River School artists, figure paintings by Henry Inman and John Singer Sargent, and still-life paintings by John Frederick Peto, William Michael Harnett
and William Mason Brown.